


Black Summer

by notassociated



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blushing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dark, Denial of Feelings, Dorks in Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Getting to Know Each Other, Homelessness, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Loss of Parent(s), Love, Love Confessions, Making Out, Mutual Pining, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Night Terrors, Nightmares, No Sex, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Pining, Protectiveness, Self-Denial, Separation Anxiety, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Slow Build, Slow Burn, True Love, Understanding, Watching Someone Sleep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:01:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27186283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notassociated/pseuds/notassociated
Summary: Jess wasn’t sure why she felt like that around him. She felt comfortable, cared for, and she hadn’t felt that in a long time. Rook made her feel like she was normal, not some freak in the woods. It hadn’t dawned on her that all she really needed, and wanted, was someone that cared.She didn’t dare mention the other feeling in her stomach.
Relationships: Jess Black & Deputy | Judge, Jess Black/Deputy | Judge, Jess Black/Male Deputy | Judge
Kudos: 7





	1. One

After Jess’ Granny passed away, Jess felt she couldn’t go back. So, for a while, she stayed with her uncle, Dutch. His name wasn’t actually Dutch. Richard Roosevelt, a knack for surviving and distrusting anyone that wasn’t his own flesh and blood besides those he’s known for years. He even had his own survival bunker, and he was always prepared for anything.

Except Jess.

Needless to say, Dutch really couldn’t _get_ her.

As Jess stared blankly at the game on the TV, It wasn’t the cougars, they never even made state, Dutch walked into the room. He turned to Jess and asked “Are you watching this?” Both her and Dutch knew that she wasn’t watching it. It was just a formality. No, Dutch, she wasn’t watching it. She didn’t care for baseball. She didn’t care for anything, really, now that she thought about it. She shook her head and Dutch shuffled over to the TV and pressed the back power button with his thumb. “Saves power,” He softly replied, as if he had to justify turning it off.

It didn’t bother Jess whether it was on or off.

Dutch walked over to the radio sitting on the table and questioned “Music?” Jess replied with an absent-minded nod. Flipping through stations, Dutch finally found a song he thought fit the atmosphere. The soft vocals of Vera Lynn echoing throughout the bunker was enough to make Jess feel strange. It wasn’t a bad feeling, per say, just something that she’d never felt before,

Dutch put his back leaning against the concrete wall and started to tap his foot. The clicking of his boot on the floor was almost silent, but Jess heard it. She could understand something at this very moment. She really wouldn’t understand it again for a long time.

Someone cared about her.

* * *

_So will you please say hello_

_To the folks that I know_

_Tell them I won't be long_

_They'll be happy to know_

_That as you saw me go_

_I was singin' this song_

_We'll meet again_

_Don't know where_

_Don't know when_

_But I know we'll meet again some sunny day_

* * *

Fucking Peggies. Jess had been captured by those motherfuckers that should be eating dirt. Dead in the ground.

They treated her like a wild animal. She was beyond pissed when they prodded her with sticks and toyed with her bow she’d saved up to buy. Days passed without food in that goddamn cage, and she had to drink the water that came down on the mud. Of course, she’d experienced all of that many times before, but she was still dying alone in a metal cage she’d been too careless to not get into. She didn’t even know how many days had passed. Three, she believed. She would die soon if she didn’t get the hell out of here.

Her dry eyes watched woefully while this cultist watched her suffer and rattled the cage. 

Her mouth widened when she saw what surely wasn’t a Peggie.

A man in a green deputy’s uniform with bandaged, bloody hands approached silently. His name tag read “Rook.” He snuck up behind the follower and quickly snapped his neck without a second thought. He approached the cage and, without saying a word, gave a pack of standard chips and a water bottle to her through the bars. She couldn’t believe it. Rescue.

This man was clearly skilled. He again killed two other members with a quick knife in the neck, then tossing that knife into the nearest person he saw. They both went down silently.

The loudest part was the sound of their bodies hitting the floor.

He disappeared around the nearest corner, and Jess was afraid that’d be it. He’d never come back, and he’d die. As much as she hated admitting it, her life depended on his.

But, he did come back. Only a few minutes later, he appeared back in Jess’ view and pulled out a handgun. M1911, old military designation. He slid back the slide, chambering a new round, and pulled the trigger.

Jess, frightenedly, flinched.

The lock hit the ground. She was fine.

She had already devoured the chips and water before he’d even come back. She was a little disappointed when “Rook” eyed the empty bag and bottle in the corner of the cell. He uttered three words: “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She lied.

She really was not okay. She knew that. And she could tell that he also knew. He held up his wrapped hand and locked his hand with hers. He simply said, “Rook.”

“Jess, Jess Black,” She said warily.

Why was she wary? He’d just saved her ass from death’s door. She really didn’t know.

He walked off to a truck clad with the cult’s insignia spray-painted on the side. She couldn’t hear what he was saying through the truck’s windows, but he muttered what looked like three or four words through his walkie-talkie. She could tell Rook was a man of very few words. He looked over at Jess through the window and motioned with his hand for her to enter the truck. She picked up her bow, quiver, lighter, and hunting knife sitting on the table near her cage. She shuffled her tired and sore feet into the passenger’s seat and closed the door shut.

He looked over and asked, “Do you know Fall’s End?”

She gulped and said a solemn “Yes.”

He then turned the key in the ignition and set his hands upon the wheel. “Good. We’ll get food and drink there. The Resistance will take care of this place.”

Fall’s End was a long while away from the lumber mill. She wasn’t sure if she could really wait before passing out on the leather seat of the car.

As if he was reading her mind, he handed her another water and said, “I know you’re thirsty. Drink up.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

Of course, Jess still managed to fall asleep into a nice dreamless sleep in the car. She even knew it’d be a bad idea, but she just trusted this “Rook” guy. It was a gut feeling. Well, it might also have to do with the fact that he saved her from dying without even knowing her.

When she awoke from her nap, it was already dusk. They were just nearing the outskirts of Fall’s End, around the baseball field. He slowed town and turned into the Spread Eagle. He looked over, seemingly a little shocked by the fact that she was up already. He dismissed his concern and said, “We’re eating. I’ll pay. You need the food.”

As much as Jess wished she could say no to handouts, she was starving. Rook pushed aside the door and a chime above the door rang. The bar was empty, save for a few people nearer to the back. This place was utterly dead.

Rook approached the bar and pulled out a stool. He sat down, then turned around and motioned for Jess to sit down. She wordlessly sat down and put her elbows and hands up on the counter.

“What do you want?”

Jess was caught out by the question for some reason. She didn’t expect him to care about what she wanted.

“Whatever’s cheapest.”

A lean woman approached from behind the bar. She had been cleaning out taps before they had arrived.

“Evening, Deputy,” she said.

Rook looked down and said, “Two orders of the Steak Tenderloin. Two waters, too.”

Jess had never been here before, but she knew the Steak Tenderloin wasn’t the cheapest item on the menu.

“Well aren’t you awfully forward tonight, Dep’?”

Again, Rook winced at “Dep’” and said nothing. He stood there, dry lipped.

The woman then turned to Jess and outstretched her hand. “Well, I haven’t seen you before! The name’s Mary May Fairgrave, pleased to meet you. What’s your name?”

“Jess, Jess Black.” She said.

“Don’t tell me Rook here saved you or something.”

Jess was puzzled as to how she just knew. She voiced her wonder as she asked “How’d you know?”

Mary let out a chuckle and said, “Rook’s just like that, helping others out but never lending himself anything. What a shame, really.”

Jess could tell something was unique about this “Rook” character. As she looked over, she could tell Rook was less tense after his name being said instead of Deputy or Dep’.

“Your food will be out in a bit, you two.” Mary said.

Thank god Jess didn’t have to say anything else in that conversation. It was painfully awkward, and Jess was definitely not a people-person. Rook tapping his bandaged fingers on the counter caught her attention. She looked over and he asked “Do you need somewhere to stay?”

“No. I’m alright.” She said a little too fast.

She, again, knew that he could see past her. He ignored it and dropped it. But, she did have something important she wanted from him. His aid.

“I need your help.”

“Save it for tomorrow. I’ll have my energy back by then.”

She was going to speak more, but this man had done more for her than most people ever had. Even him accepting helping her without knowing at all what it was she needed was incredibly thoughtful.

“Alright.”

He took another bite of his steak.

“Finish your steak. You can have mine too. God knows you need it.”

For some reason, that just made her laugh. And, again, here he was being nice. He had barely any reason to be, but he was. And she knew he could handle himself and leave her if he had to. He had taken care of an entire peggie outpost by himself, for God’s sake.

He stood up and offered her a slip of paper with his walkie-talkie preferred frequency. He then said, “Come in when you need my help.”

“Got it.” she replied.

He then carried himself with his water out the front door of the bar. The bell rang again as the door shut.

_His bell._

* * *

“Jesus, you finished those steaks mighty quickly,” Mary commented as she was coming over from behind the bar again. “Those Peggies starve you too?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck em’.” Jess agreed with that statement wholeheartedly.

After a bit of silence and Jess sipping her water, Mary asked, “So, Rook? How you feel about him?”

Jess was off put by this question. “He’s alright. He saved my life, after all. I don’t expect him to turn up evil.

“He’s a keeper. Take good care of him,” she said. She then walked back to the kitchen to start closing down the bar. All of the other people had already left by now.

What did she mean by that? ‘Take good care of him.’ What the hell was she talking about?

Jess walked out from her seat and pushed open the door with her forearm. The bell rang again as the door made contact with its frame.

_Her bell._

* * *

She looked out onto the main road running through Fall’s End. And then she kicked the dirt under her boots. And then she looked up at the sky. The stars were always out in Hope.

She smiled with the sound of wind blowing some leaves through Fall’s End from near the wooded-forest area. She didn’t know why.

_Black Summer._

* * *

Of course, Jess had nowhere to stay, but she’d been roughing it so far. One more night really couldn’t make a difference. She decided to stay somewhere near Fall’s End. Tomorrow would be easier that way. She found somewhere nice. Well, as nice as outdoor could get. She could’ve said yes to Rook’s offer, but she didn’t in fear of losing her pride.

She should’ve said yes.

She regretted it already. Sleeping outside was never comfortable. Sure, a sleeping bag alleviated some of the pains and conveniences, but it was nothing close to a real bed. A bed was somewhere she could get cozy and hide under the pillows from the cold seeping in. A sleeping bag felt empty.

She wondered about that Deputy. Deputy Rook, as he should be called. He saved her, and she was grateful.

What did Mary mean? ‘He’s a keeper. Take good care of him.’ What the fuck did that mean, Mary? Jess just couldn’t understand.

And then she suddenly _did_ understand. It was as if she was in middle school again, shaking and pouting. Was she blushing? She quickly discarded that thought. She was honestly a little mad at herself for not getting it sooner. But, why did Mary say that? She really didn’t know that, to be honest.

As she was going to sleep, she thought about how her sleeping bag felt empty again. She wished it was a lot less empty.

_She really did._ **_  
_ **


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no, fuck you, you don't get a summary

That fucking demon.

He was out to get her again. She was running, running, running through some forest. Usually, the forest was a peaceful place for her, but she was lost this time around. She heard his voice again. He wasn’t even saying anything that she could understand, but she just kept thinking of his face and that twisted fucking smile of his. They were dying, fucking dying, and he was there smiling and laughing. You could hear the char under their skin while their wails of pain kept following her. She kept thinking of it. Help. Help. She was going to die again. She’d never get to have revenge on this motherfucker because she’d get killed by him first. She was going down just like her parents. She was going to be gutted and burnt alive just like them. Cooked.

She felt sick. Getting thrown through loops or something. That’s what she felt. Her arm was burning.

She still could hear his voice calling out for her.

Of course, it was a nightmare. She wasn’t running at all.

* * *

When she woke up, she felt like she had been running for miles though. There was vomit lying on the dirt next to her sleeping bag. She had vomited in her sleep again, all because of the fucking Cook. It’d haunted her ever since that day where she saw them being burned alive.

She really didn’t like thinking about it.

Well, the day was passing her by already. She had to get up sometime soon. It looked to be past two already. Fuck. How long did she sleep in? She set her hands on the floor and pushed herself up off the ground. Dusting her hands off, she started to get all of her stuff together. She checked her radio and set it to the frequency that Rook had given her. As she was scrolling through the ranges, she stumbled upon the Peggie radio channel. “Fucking Peggies,” she said aloud. She kept going past it until she finally made it to the channel. Radio static right now.

She held the radio up to her mouth and asked, “Rook, you there? Over.” She waited for a few seconds before deciding he was probably busy saving lives or some shit right now. She most likely wasn’t the first live he’d saved, judging by Mary’s open dialogue about him. Weird. She started to wonder where he slept. Probably had a nice home or something, unlike her obviously.

“Yes, I’m here. Where are you? Over,” Her walkie-talkie spat out. Rook was there, just taking a while to respond. She felt anxious to give him her location, but it was necessary if she wanted his help. “A little past Fall’s End, past the baseball ‘stadium.’ You’ll see a dead Peggie on the ground there. Just go south of him, I’ll be there. Over,” she responded.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Over.”

That was relieving for some reason.

* * *

He arrived in the same Peggie truck he’d been driving the other day. The one he drove her to Fall’s End in.

He almost drove past her, but she luckily managed to wave him out of his truck.

“Hey, Jess,” he greeted with a straight face. “You needed my help?”

“Yeah, I do. There’s this guy I’ve been needing to track. Name’s “The Cook.” Sicko fucking burns people and tortures them. I need your help in killing him, though.” She struggled to say. It was tough asking someone for help when she’d been alone for so long. She always acted like she could do everything on her own, and to a certain extent, she could, but she also depended on Rook right now. She needed him so she could finally put that fucker down. Down in hell, where he belonged.

“Alright. Where to?” He said simply.

That fucker could finally die. He would die. She almost started tearing up, but then she realized that she forgot how it felt to cry. She couldn’t cry now. She hadn’t cried in years, not since their bodies had been tied up and their guts ripped out.

She still smells burnt flesh sometimes.

“Near the Baron Lumber Mill. Sorry for having you drive me to Fall’s End only to drive right back.”

“It’s alright,” he said softly. He walked back to the car and motioned for her to get in. The car was exactly the same as it was yesterday, save for the fact that there were a few more bullet holes in some of the car doors and the bottom of the car was covered in dirt. She wondered what he did last night in this truck before heading to bed, or maybe it was before he picked up his radio? She didn’t know. She moved over to the door and yanked it open right before slamming the door a little harder than she meant to.

“You watch the road, I’ll do everything else,” she said while sticking her head out of the window. Rook let out a silent nod and stepped on the peddle. This felt natural to Jess, for some reason. Of course, she was supposed to be making sure Peggies weren’t after them, but her tiredness got the better of her again.

  
  


Rook looked over at Jess. She said she’d be ‘doing everything else’ as long as he was watching the road, but he didn’t know if sleeping counted in her list.

He tried hard to watch the road, but it was as if he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

They’d be alright as long as Rook took the backroads, where barely any Peggies went. Taking the sidelines and not the highways also meant that Jess would get more sleep than she would’ve normally had.

Rook was grateful for that.

* * *

They had arrived at the Lumber Mill, and Rook had to tap Jess’ shoulder to get her to wake up. She was alarmed when she felt that, as she’d forgotten going to sleep entirely. She felt embarrassed for some reason. How could she have fallen asleep when Peggies would be patrolling? That could’ve gotten both of them hurt pretty badly if one of the Peggie convoys had seen them.

Jess didn’t like thinking of Rook dying to Peggies.

Rook mumbled a soft, “Wake up, we’re here.” It wasn’t condescending or gruff, it was in fact quite kind and well-mannered sounding.

Jess stirred from her nap. She slowly opened the truck door and set her feet onto the dirt. She let out a soft grunt as she expected a softer fall from the seat.

Rook turned to her and asked “Where do we start? I’ll follow you.”

Jess smiled. Again, she didn’t know why.

* * *

Apparently, Rook was not as sneaky as he was that first day.

He had alerted Peggies multiple times, but he always was able to use his pistol to quickly dispose of them. Luckily, none of the hostages were killed or hurt because Rook always had perfect accuracy and knew where to aim.

Apparently, he was also deadly with a shovel.

The fact that he used a shovel to spear a Peggie made her laugh because you wouldn’t expect that from anyone, let alone a deputy. After throwing it, he ran after the body and grabbed the shovel again. He threw it to the nearest Peggie that heard the distinctive bone-crunching sound and they were immediately on the floor. They weren’t dead yet, though, so he brought out his pistol from his holster and shot him while looking away.

He then cut open the zip ties placed upon the hostages and let them run free. He looked to Jess for where to go next. Jess stood still for a second before realizing what he wanted. She started walking to the next area. That’s where The Cook will be.

The fucker will finally die.

* * *

Rook killed him. She didn’t even have the guts to watch him die. She’d been waiting for so long to see this happen, but she couldn’t kill him. She asked Rook to do it, and he gave her a silent nod. The shot happened, and Jess started to cry. She had to choke back the tears when she saw him walking back towards her. She really didn’t want or need anyone seeing her like this.

She doesn't know why she told Rook about herself, about her parents and The Cook. She told him everything about her past. Maybe it was because she trusted him. That might have been it.

Yeah. She trusts him.

* * *

When they got in the truck again, Jess tried to make small talk. She didn’t really know why because she hates small talk.

“Why are you still driving this thing around? You should get it painted so we don’t get shot up.”

Rook just let out a chuckle and said, “Too busy.”

Jess guessed that that was an acceptable answer and let out a small laugh. She then asked “Are we driving back to Fall’s End?”

“Yeah, unless you want me to drop you off somewhere else,” he replied. He turned the key and started the ignition. He stepped his foot on the pedal and started to reverse out of the Baron Lumber Mill.

“No, Fall’s End is fine.” Jess answered. For some reason, she hoped that they’d be able to go to the Spread Eagle again tonight.

She wasn’t going to fall asleep again this time. She just wasn’t going to.

* * *

Rook looked over again and, of course, Jess was sleeping. Did she always fall asleep in cars like this? He really didn’t hope so, that could be dangerous. Of course, he knew that Jess could defend herself. He was amazed that she was even caught in the first place, especially by Peggies that barely knew how to shoot a gun.

Rook kept driving, and he thought about how he really didn’t want to have to wake her up. But he knew he’d have to. After all, how would he be able to sleep here if she was in the same car?

He didn’t have anywhere to sleep, so you usually just slept in any car he could find. He barely ever got sleep. It made sense though, and it looked like Jess didn’t get a ton of sleep either. He’ll let her sleep for now.

After all, she was cute when she slept.

Rook felt his cheeks flush. He was acting like a teen again. He’d let the feeling subside for now. After all, this really couldn’t come to anything.

* * *

Jess was finally up again. Outside of the windshield, the sky looked pitch-black with stars lining the veil of night. Turning to her side, she saw Rook lying there, peacefully sleeping. When her mind finally returned to her and she was a bit more lucid, she realized that she had been sleeping. On his shoulder.

Jess felt something. She didn’t know what it was. It was certainly strange though. Maybe she was grateful. After all, this was the man that had killed The Cook. The person that’d been chasing her in her dreams for so long. She tried to strain her nose to smell the burnt flesh or hair on fire, but all she smelled was strawberry. Or maybe apples. Some fruit. She wondered why she smelled that. Was it Rook? She couldn’t imagine this super tough man smelling like fruit. She leaned into his face and sniffed. Yeah. He smelled like fruit. He smelled, to be honest, really fucking good.

As Jess had been inspecting his face and hair up close, Rook’s eyes started to crack open. He saw her face. Really close. Rook let out a quiet, “Jess?”

Jess immediately backed up to her seat and stammered, struggling to make an answer as to why she was so close. “I, I was making sure you were alright. I didn’t know you were asleep. Sorry,” she said while rolling up the sleeves on her hunting jacket. She was.. pouting? It was weird to see Jess like this because she’s always been this super stoic badass. He saw a light blush form on her cheeks.

“Jess, I’m alright,” Rook softly said. He mumbled a reserved, “Thanks.”

Jess had to pick herself back up mentally and try to keep a calm and concise mind. She slid back up her hood, it had fallen off while she was sleeping, and was about to exit the truck to wallow in her embarrassment when she wondered something.

“Why were you sleeping in here, Rook?” She questioned.

Right after she asked that, Rook’s face went tense. He didn’t really know how to explain it. After all, it was depressing.

“I don’t exactly _have_ a home,” he quietly admitted.

Jess didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t either, but you probably know that already,” she said after what felt like a minute of silence, “Maybe we should.. nevermind.” 

Rook really wished she would’ve finished that sentence, but he didn’t press her on it. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or anything similar. So he sat there, silent as a plum. She was really cute just then.

“Look, I’m going to just go. If you need my help or anything, I’ll be on the radio. Oh, and.. thanks,” Jess said. It was her attempt to try to break the awkwardness in the truck. As she opened the door, she pushed her feet out onto the ground. Her hand was there, lying on the dashboard. Rook tried to grab her hand, but she was too far away.

_He couldn’t reach her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this was a nice chapter to write. i had fun with it. i still have no clue what i'm doing
> 
> alright boys, peace

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what i'm doing since this is my first fic. am i doing a good job? you proud of me, dad? eh, i'll let you commenters be the judge
> 
> alright boys, peace


End file.
